Jonathan L. Dee
Jonathan Lindsay Dee (or John Dee, John L. Dee) is a Canadian actor, writer, producer and director. Dee is best known for the roles of Tobi Dala in the Star Wars series, Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street series, Cpt. Jack Sparrow in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean series, Dr. Mark Greene on the TV show E.R. and Jack Bauer in the television series 24. Early Life Jonathan Lindsay Dee was born on June 15, 1962, in Montreal, Canada. The oldest of six children born to Sharon Joyce Dee (née Boyle), a homemaker and George Thomas Dee, an construction engineer/industrialist. His siblings are Elizabeth Jean (b. 1969), Serge Raymond (b. 1972), fraternal twins Michael James and Melissa Ann (b. 1974) and Stephanie Mary (b. 1977). The Dee family were neighbors to Harry and Lorraine Abdul, parents of Paula Abdul, the future wife of John Dee. The two were inseparable growing up to most reports. At the age of 12, Paula and John were separated when Harry Abdul received a job offer in Los Angeles. Working tirelessly in 1975, at the age of 13, Dee saved enough money to visit the Abdul family in California. He chose to visit during Spring Break and on a dare from Paula, he went to an open-call audition for an upcoming space movie. Ill-prepared, but having a naturally sociable personality, he won over the casting director and the film's director George Lucas. With his parent's permission, Dee was cast in one of his signature roles, Tobi Dala in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Career Star Wars In 1976, Dee was cast in role of Tobi Dala in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. To overcome the age difference between himself and his role, he was disguised with the character's costume and old age make-up. Dee's personality was that of a performer and so he won over the cast and crew in the part. His future mother-in-law Lorraine Abdul volunteered to act as his legal guardian and the crew lied about his age to circumvent child labor laws in England. Dee was a naturally tall kid having reached 6 ft by the age of 13, this helped with the deception. It was during this film that he developed a longtime friendship with actress Carrie Fisher. Upon completion of the film, he returned to Montreal to resume his studies. On the release of the film, it shattered box office records, and made household names of its stars. Desiring to continue his career, Dee moved to California (moving in with the Abduls) in the summer of 1977. Contracted to appear in the two sequels, Dee returned for Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back though his part had to be reduced when filming for Superman The Movie overran, and the firing of Richard Donner caused production issues. Working with William Walton Granger and director Irvin Kirshner, they worked out a production schedule with the re-shoots of Superman II and created an illusion that Tobi Dala was in more of the film. In 1982, Dee finished his contract for the Star Wars films by appearing in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Once again his busy schedule interfered with his appearance in the film. Limiting his role in the opening "Jabba" sequence to the final battle over the Sarlacc, Dee appeared in roughly half the running time in the second sequel. Following the end of original trilogy, Dee had meetings with William Walton Granger to discuss his possible appearance in the planned sequel trilogy. As one of the few scheduled characters to appear in both, along side Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker, he'd be one of four actors who could appear as his original role. In the end Dee agreed to return to play a younger version of Tobi Dala (much like Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine. Dee filmed most of his roles on soundstages using green screens and advancement in CGI. Not liking the experience as much as the original trilogy, he fought hard to keep his character relevant to the plotlines of each film. In the end Dee speaks occasionally critical, but reasonably pleased with the experience of the prequel trilogy. Considering the final duel between Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and his character a highlight in the series. Halloween During the summer of 1977, while Star Wars was becoming a pop-culture phenomenon, Dee encountered John Carpenter at a convention and had praised him for Carpenter's second film Assault on Precinct 13. Carpenter revealed details of his next project, "The Babysitter Murders," which later became John Carpenter's Halloween and Dee offered his services in the role of the killer. When informed that the role had no dialogue, Dee happily agreed stating; "No lines to remember. I should pay you." When production became delayed on the set of Superman The Movie, Dee had to drop out of the film. But when Richard Donner was fired from his role as director in the nearly completed sequel Superman II and looking at extensive re-shoots, Dee quit the role of Superman. After careful negotiations, Dee agreed to return to finish the Superman sequel on the condition that he have ten days to shoot Halloween. With only five days in the budget for Donald Pleasance and ten days for Dee, Carpenter still managed to make a classic film. Dee was praised for his silent performance as Michael Myers (The Shape) and was willing to return for the first sequel Halloween II out of loyalty to Carpenter and producer Debra Hill. Joined by his co-stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasance, all assumed this would be the last film in the series. In 1988, Dee agreed to return for Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers but found the experience unpleasant. When offered a chance to return for Halloween 5 or Halloween 6 he declined. To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the series, Jamie Lee Curtis and Dee attempted to create a reunion movie bringing back John Carpenter as director. While they were unable to get Carpenter to reconcile with producer Moustapha Akkad, they continued with their plans. Two scripts were written and Akkad could not decide which to film. Dee joked that both should be made and as a marketing gimmick it was decided to do both. The first film Halloween: 10/31/98 was heavy on Jamie Lee Curtis' Laurie Strode character and the second Halloween: The Thorn featured Dee as a lead in a role other than Michael Myers, with Curtis being killed mid-way through the film. The double feature concept was a major success and to date the last time either actor appeared in the series. A Nightmare on Elm Street In 1984, Dee created his next signature role, that of Freddy Krueger. Originally actor David Warner was originally slated to play Freddy. Make-up tests were done, but he had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. Replacing him was difficult at first. "I couldn’t find an actor to play Freddy Krueger with the sense of ferocity I was seeking," Craven recalled on the film's 30th anniversary. "Everyone was too quiet, too compassionate towards children. " Craven originally intended to cast an older actor to play Freddy Kreuger, but the script had somehow reached the hands of John Dee and he quickly offered to be an investor in the project, offering $250.000 to the budget. “Basically I bribed them,” Dee once said in Fangoria magazine, for the part of the villain. Dee had already played Michael Myers in John Carpenter's Halloween and enjoyed playing a killer. Dee also liked the dream imagery and concepts within the script. New Line Cinema was happy to have a large name to help sell the project and Craven agreed to audition Dee for the part. "He was much taller then I’d hoped, and he had his Superman physique, but he impressed me with his willingness to go to the dark places in his mind. John understood Freddy." To get that understanding, Dee had darkened his lower eyelids with cigarette ash on his way to the audition and slicked his hair back. "I looked strange. I sat there and listened to Wes talk. He was tall and preppy and erudite. I posed a bit, like Klaus Kinski, and that was the audition," he said later. Dee at first objected to the idea of having Freddy’s entire head burned, but was outvoted by Craven and Shaye and so he capitulated. He would later remark that the make-up really helped him in creating the Freddy persona. The first film was a major success and helped to launch New Line Cinema as a major studio in Hollywood. Dee, having invested in the first film, became a co-producer for all sequels and made more money from this role up to that point. Dee happily returned to play "Freddy" in all sequels of the series, ending with Freddy vs. Jason. For the reboot, Dee happily encouraged the re-casting of the part to make things fresh. E.R. 24 Pirates of the Caribbean Other Work Personal Life Filmography Film Television